A landslide victory for The Choir of King’s College Cambridge this month, with their album celebrating the hundredth anniversary of their Nine Lessons and Carols service (which is also Stephen Cleobury’s farewell recording as Director of Music) selling almost twice as many copies as our second-place recording, Francois-Xavier Roth’s marvellous contribution to the Debussy anniversary with Les Siècles. (You can read David's full review of the King's album here). Other popular seasonal discs include A Vaughan Williams Christmas from William Vann and Chapel Choir Of The Royal Hospital Chelsea, and The Sixteen’s A Renaissance Christmas, sitting at No. 11 and No. 15 respectively.
It’s also great to see five of our Top 10 Recordings of 2018 enjoying new leases of life – Franco Fagioli’s Handel Arias, Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Polina Leschenko’s Deux, Alexander Melnikov’s Four Pieces, Four Pianos and Rachel Podger’s Four Seasons with Brecon Baroque, as well as that Roth Debussy – and my own Personal Favourite of the Year, Steven Isserlis and Dénes Várjon’s Chopin and Schubert recital on Hyperion, appearing at No. 12!
No. 1 (No. 2 last month)
King’s College Cambridge, Stephen Cleobury
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
No. 2 (new entry)
Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 3 (No. 8 last month)
Víkingur Ólafsson (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 4 (No. 1 last month)
MusicAeterna, Teodor Currentzis
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 5 (No. 3 last month)
Isabelle Faust (violin), Alexander Melnikov (piano), Tanguy de Williencourt (piano), Magali Mosnier (flute), Antoine Tamestit viola), Xavier de Maistre (harp), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), Javier Perianes (piano)
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 6 (new entry)
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 7 (No. 7 last month)
Hilary Hahn (violin)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 88.2 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 8 (No. 18 in August)
Rachel Podger (violin), Brecon Baroque
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 9 (No. 4 last month)
Cecilia Bartoli (mezzo), Ensemble Matheus, Jean-Christophe Spinosi
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 10 (No. 18 last month)
Sabine Devieilhe (soprano), Léa Desandre (mezzo), Le Concert d'Astrée, Emmanuelle Haïm
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 11 (new entry)
Chapel Choir Of The Royal Hospital Chelsea, William Vann
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 12 (No. 16 last month)
Steven Isserlis (cello) & Dénes Várjon (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 13 (No. 6 last month)
Destination Rachmaninov - Departure
Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4
Daniil Trifonov (piano), Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 14 (new entry)
Mitsuko Uchida (piano), Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle
Available formats: 3 CDs + Blu-ray Audio + Blu-ray Video, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 15 (new entry)
The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 16 (new entry)
Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 88.2 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 17 (new entry)
Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Polina Leschenko (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 18 (No. 19 in October)
Paul Watkins (cello), Louis Lortie (piano), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Available formats: SACD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 19 (new entry)
Franco Fagioli (countertenor), Il Pomo d'Oro, Zefira Valova
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 20 (No. 20 last month)
Six Evolutions
Bach: Cello Suites
Yo-Yo Ma (cello)
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 21 (No. 21 in September)
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 22 (new entry)
Yuja Wang (piano)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 23 (new entry)
Natalya Romaniw, Eleanor Dennis, Kitty Whately, Robert Murray, Ben McAteer, Neal Davies; Kinder Children's Choir, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Concert Orchestra, John Andrews
Available format: 2 SACDs
No. 24 (new entry)
Four Pieces - Four Pianos
Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Stravinsky
Alexander Melnikov (pianos)
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No. 25 (new entry)
Sarah Fox (soprano), Mark Stone (baritone), James Ehnes (violin), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Manze
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
